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The ballistic missile launched by North Korea on May 14 successfully re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, according to analysts, a significant breakthrough for Pyongyang's missile programme.

Defence officials in South Korea and the US have confirmed that the launch of the liquid- fuel Hwasong-12 was a success.

North Korea claimed that the weapon reached an altitude of 2,111.5 km (1,312 miles) and travelled a distance of 489 miles before breaching Japan's Air Defence Identification Zone and splashing down in the Sea of Japan.

That claim was confirmed by South Korean government sources, who told the JoongAng Daily that analysis of data communication from North Korea's missile control centre confirmed the warhead survived the 5,000 degrees Celsius (9,032 Fahrenheit) and extreme vibration it experienced on re-entry.

US defence officials have similarly confirmed to NBC News that the test was a success.

Analysts have long considered the largest challenges to North Korea's ballistic missile programme to be achieving re-entry and miniaturising a nuclear warhead to enable it to be mounted on a missile.

The Hwasong-12 weapon is an intermediate-range missile and experts suggest it will take around three years for the technology to be applied to an intercontinental missile capable of striking the mainland US, although it is clearly a major step towards that goal.